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The 2022 New York State Budget created a $2.1 billion program for workers who have lost income during the COVID-19 pandemic, but are ineligible for Unemployment Insurance, federal stimulus payments, or other federal COVID-related benefits due to their immigration status. Immigrant communities have been disproportionately burdened by the pandemic in terms of their health and…
Category Archives: Covid-19 News
IRS Confirms Face Masks and Sanitizer Are Tax-Deductible
On March 26, 2020, the IRS announced that the amounts you paid to purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect against the spread of COVID-19, such as face masks, hand sanitizer, and disinfecting wipes are eligible to be deducted as medical expenses on your 2020 tax return. The IRS advises that taxpayers may be eligible…
NYS Establishes Emergency Grant Program for Essential Workers
If you are an essential worker, first responder, or healthcare worker, you may be eligible for New York State’s Empire Pandemic Response Reimbursement Fund. Announced on March 6, 2021, the Fund was designed to help eligible essential workers who responded to the public health emergency during the COVID-19 pandemic and are in financial need. Up…
Tax Break for Unemployment Benefits in 2020 | Levy Ratner
In March 2021, President Joe Biden signed into law an economic stimulus bill called the American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”). The law includes a special federal tax break for workers who received unemployment benefits in 2020: the first $10,200 ($20,400 if married and filing jointly) of unemployment compensation is not taxable. This benefit applies to…
There’s Still Time to Get Affordable Health Coverage!
If you are considering purchasing health coverage (perhaps using your $1400 stimulus payment) but haven’t yet, you still have time. In addition, that coverage might be less expensive. The 2021 Affordable Care Act (ACA) open enrollment period to buy health coverage on the health insurance marketplace (also known as the exchanges) ended December 15, 2020….
Congress Extends A Lifeline To Troubled Pension Funds
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”) brings welcome news to multiemployer, union-sponsored defined benefit plans that have become insolvent or are in danger of becoming insolvent. See LR’s What You Need to Know Now here, which discussed the COBRA subsidy provisions of the ARPA. A defined benefit plan is the traditional form of…
New York Employees Can Take Paid Leave to Receive COVID-19 Vaccine
On Friday, March 12, 2021, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a bill (S.2588A/A.3354B) that allows public and private New York employees to take paid time off to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Employees are permitted take up to four hours of leave per injection, meaning an employee who receives a vaccine that requires two doses…
Temporary Help with COBRA Costs Coming Soon
Did you lose your job during the pandemic and previously had employer-sponsored health coverage? Well, paying for continued health coverage through COBRA is about to become affordable for workers, but only temporarily. Under COBRA, workers who lose job-based health coverage because of termination of employment (other than for gross misconduct) or reduction in hours, may…
DOL Expands COVID-19 Unemployment Benefits for Unsafe Conditions
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many workers have made the difficult choice not to return to an unsafe workplace or to decline a new offer of unsafe work to avoid the risk of catching the virus. On February 25, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released guidance announcing that individuals in these situations, in addition…
New Federal Guidelines on COVID-19 Testing Coverage
Earlier What You Need To Know Now postings here and here explained that, under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and CARES Act, health plans are required to cover the cost of COVID-19 diagnostic testing and vaccination without any cost sharing (co-pays, deductibles, coinsurance). On February 26, 2021, in accordance with President Biden’s COVID-19 Executive…